Children

Yesterday, I stood in front of a room full of 3rd grade ten-year-olds.

A woman I met at the visa registration office in town was excited to hear that I am in Ukhta to teach English. So, she invited me to her daughter's English class. I waited in the hallway for the class to begin and heard the bell ring. A bunch of students with red bands around their arms (designated cleaners for the day) ran into the hallway where I stood and immediately began scraping their feet against the floor. They were removing black marks! What an interesting duty. When class started, I walked in and all the students stood and said, together, "Hell-o Sa-ra and Na-dej-da." The room was full, one boy and one girl sitting at each double desk. They were so excited. For some reason, all the adults in the room left for a few minutes and I was left sitting in this small chair in front of all the students. They piled together and came up to me to check me out and start to practice their English skills. "What is your favorite color?" "How are you?" I answered in English and they'd revert back to Russian. 

After I found out that a few students also loved green, the teacher and Nadya came back in and we started class. I was there to answer questions, and these questions never ran out. They started with "Do you have a mother and a father and sisters and brothers?" but then escalated to "What kind of rivers do you have near your town?" "What type of tourist attractions are there in your area?" "Have you ever seen the building that looks like a big ATM machine?" Every time the girl in the front row asked a question, she stood. She, the leader of the class, is the starosta (старoста). She's a top-noch student who is responsible for carrying the grade book from teacher to teacher. (And, don't think she has special privileges to seeing those grades in the book. Anybody can go check them out.) Groups of students in Russia stay with each other all day, every day, for as long as the students are in the same school system. Even the university-level students go to each class with each other. So, Louisa, this starosta, will probably be the leader of all the students in this class for a while. I've heard that at an older age, the starosta is responsible for making sure all the students know where classes are and if they've been cancelled due to a holiday or something else. I hope they let me know, too.

Nadya decided to ask the students about their hobbies half way through class, so that I could learn about them. Number one hobby: swimming (despite the affects cold weather can have on a wet body, there is a good sized pool in town). Number two: English lessons outside of school proper. Number three: modern origami. Way to go, students! They don't let any activity slip by them. 

At the end of class, Louisa stood up on last time and gave me a very big thank you from the whole class. She also presented me with a Chukcha (Чукчa) doll and magnet (the picture of the doll is at the top of the post). The Chukchi (Чукчи) are a group of people who live in the very north of Russia (I'm not sure exactly where). I guess this doll is a symbol of the Komi Republic. Next, a girl in the back row stood up and wished me the best of luck for the year, both in my language learning and my teaching. (Remember, these students are just 10 years old.) Everyone then pulled out their fancy camera phones and took pictures of me. A boy came up to me and handed me this drawing to the right. Both flags, represent. He understands.

I think I might be going to more elementary schools.